Endoscopes are well known and are in the form of a flexible tube for insertion into various body passageways such as the large and small intestines, and in addition, the stomach, etc. Since some body passageways, especially the colon, have many bend portions, the proper insertion of the endoscope can sometimes cause rupture or damage and, at least, excess pain. One difficulty is that the means for viewing the passageway in the gastrointestinal system includes a fiber optic device which necessarily requires a somewhat rigid conduit. To overcome the disadvantages of this rigidity it has been suggested, as for example by the Frazer U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,662 to utilize a self-propulsion system by two radially expandable bladders. Another bladder type system is suggested by Krasner U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,228. Both of these systems insufficiently deal with problems of flexibility and more importantly, for medical purposes, cleaning after use.